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Newcastle University: Classics and Ancient History

Institution Newcastle University View institution profile
Department School of History, Classics and Archaeology
Web Visit Newcastle University website
Study type Research

Summary

Our programmes cover a range of classical subjects. They include material culture and history, language and literature, philosophy and the history of science and medicine. We have strong links with related disciplines such as history, archaeology and modern languages. We welcome postgraduates in any of our areas of research expertise.

Classics and Ancient History at Newcastle has a long and distinguished international reputation. We deliver quality research and teaching. We have taught Latin and Greek since 1874. We have taught Ancient History since 1910 and Classical Archaeology since 1931.

Our staff include scholars of outstanding international reputation. Our research covers all major aspects of the study of the ancient world.

MPhil and PhD supervision is usually available in: Ancient history and classical archaeology Archaeology of religion and ritual from the Bronze Age to the early Classical era Greco–Roman religion Greek ethnography Late Classical and Hellenistic periods: Alexander the Great and Hellenistic empires; kingship and royal ideology Contact and interaction between Greeks and non-Greeks The history and archaeology of pre-Roman and Roman Italy The late Roman Republic Institutions of the Roman world The social, economic and cultural history of the Roman Empire Roman Greece Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt The era of the tetrarchy and Constantine Pagan-Christian relations Late Roman/early mediaeval legal history Slavery in the ancient world Greek art and archaeology

Classical language and literature Greek poetry from Homer to the imperial age ‘Presocratic’ and ‘Hippocratic’ writers Greek tragedy, including its reception Ancient didactic poetry Second Sophistic Ancient linguistic thought, especially etymology Greek influence on later literature Greek and Roman music, including harmonic theory; instruments and their place in the development of Greek musical science; music and Graeco-Roman society; the representation of musical instruments. Greek and Roman oratory and rhetoric Cicero: rhetoric, philosophy, politics Latin poetry Literature and religion in Latin epic Time in ancient literature Flavian literature and culture Ancient historiography History of Classical Scholarship Reception of the ancient world

Philosophy and science Ancient philosophy, particularly epistemology and ethics, The exact sciences in Greek and Roman antiquity The history of Greek and Roman medicine Hippocratic medicine and the history of its reception up until the 20th century

You can find a detailed list of classics research areas on our website.

There is a lively research culture in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. We have a seminar programme with contributions from: academic staff postgraduate students distinguished visiting speakers

You will have the opportunity to get involved in our student-led Postgraduate Forum. Their activities include publishing an online peer-reviewed journal and organising bi-monthly seminars. At the seminars, students deliver papers to their peers and academic staff. There is also an annual postgraduate conference. Here you can present your research to other regional and national postgraduates and academics.

Delivery: You will receive regular one-to-one supervision with a lead supervisor and a second supervisor. In semester one of your first year, your supervisor will assess your skills training needs (eg languages, quantitative data management). We will review and discuss your training needs with you on a regular basis. We also track their efficacy yearly.

We run regular postgraduate and research seminars. We encourage all students to attend and to present papers. You are also encouraged to attend region-wide and national training events. Financial support is available from the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. This is in addition to your annual research allowance.

Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

Master of Philosophy - MPhil

Newcastle University

Newcastle University is a World Top 140 university (QS World University Rankings 2026) and founding member of the prestigious Russell Group of world-class, research-intensive UK universities.

Committed to excellence, innovation and creativity, it is pioneering solutions that can change the world. Through world-class research it tackles some of the biggest challenges facing society globally, leading in its key strengths of ageing and health, data, cities and place, culture and creative arts, and one planet. The UK’s Research Excellence Framework 2021 assessed its research as world-leading with outstanding impact.

Through high quality teaching it educates …

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